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Top of the Pops AXED

(June 2006)

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SD
Steve D
Skytower posted:
james2001 posted:
djmgpsp posted:
should have


I want to find out who began this assault on the English language and give him a damn good beating. Why people don't say "should have" is beyond me. "should have" should be thrown in the bin along with txt spk and all these other stupid spelling and grammatical things that are becoming more common.


Beat me to that one.

James Vertigan posted:
Talking of the English language, tonight's TOTP proves that nobody proof reads things anymore... there were at least two spelling mistakes I noticed in the captions..


It's all well and good proof reading, except the standard of English grammar/spelling is so poor that they probably wouldn't notice the errors.

Incidentally, I noticed one was Marilyn Manson (or Marylin as the caption said) - what was the other?


Well - and I'm almost ashamed to admit that I noticed this (but sadly I am well old enough to have seen the original performance) - according to the caption The Wombles were singing "The Wombling Song" whereas in fact they were singing "Remember You're a Womble".

Really, with such a startling lack of musical knowledge within the production team it's no wonder the show went downhill Laughing
CD
cdukjunkie
Andrew posted:
The old 'turn the lights off' gag had been done before and much better on the last SM:TV Live. Jimmy just turning the switch and then walking off was a bit of an anticlimax


Yes and there was a bit of comedy in the SM:TV ending too with the 'cleaner' mopping everything up actually being the Exec Producer saying how at least he wouldn't have to be up at 6am next Saturday Laughing

Kind of sums up TOTP for the past few years really - trying to copy what ITV were doing with CDUK when TOTP was the one who had it right for so many years long before.

So long Top of the Pops Sad
LL
Lottie Long-Legs
tightrope78 posted:
Well it was a disappointing way to go, totally forgettable. Surely the Beeb could have splashed out and tried to get some live performances from 'vintage' acts. I seem to remember they did this for the show's 25th anniversary in 1988. Surely the following acts could have been prevailed upon to film a live performance:

The Rolling Stones
The Who
Paul McCartney
Sting
Blondie
Duran Duran
Kim Wilde
Kylie
Oasis
Madonna
Robbie Williams
Justin Timberlake

I list these acts as they are still very much active. The Stones are in Britain for their new tour, and had a new single out the other week. The Who have a new song out this week as well. McCartney is always willing to play 'Hey Jude' for a good cause, and he needs good publicity at the minute!! As regards Sting and Blondie they were both very successful in the 70's and are still going strong today. Likewise Duran Duran and Kim Wilde are still with us, making new music. I think the final TOTP would have been a great place for Kylie to announce her musical return. Madonna is in town for her new tour, and new single. Oasis just for being brilliant, as they always were on TOTP. And Robbie and Justin have new material which I'm sure they would have loved the opportunity to plug. Even if they couldn't have got all these acts surely some of them would have recorded messages for the show.

If the BBC had really cared they would have made it a show to remember and a fitting tribute to the show's history.


The cost would have been well beyond what a Sunday evening BBC2 programme could warrant. Which, frankly, is a shambles, and your point is of course correct.
BH
BillyH Founding member
This Pan's People documentary has had an extra bit tacked on too, with text over footage of them saying what they've done since - which went into the 2000s, and the actual documentary was made in 1994 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of TOTP.
SJ
sjames
Andrew posted:
That'll be why its 70 minutes long then. The first hour being a repeat from 5 or 6 years ago, the last 10 mins being the only new bit. It should have been billed as a revised repeat at least


It was, in the Radio Times at least. Very Happy
PT
Put The Telly On
BillyH posted:
This Pan's People documentary has had an extra bit tacked on too, with text over footage of them saying what they've done since - which went into the 2000s, and the actual documentary was made in 1994 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of TOTP.


Yes that was a straight repeat from the revised edition in 2004 - for 40 years of TOTP.
CO
Colm
The Pan's People documentary was a second revision on the original shown in January 1994, the captions on the dance troupes that succeeded PP (including taking out the erroneous statement about Zoo's time on TOTP ending in January 1983 - the last dance routine on TOTP credited to Zoo was on 29th September 1983) and updating what the dancers did after they disbanded were both revised

Sad to hear as well about Flick Colby's battle with breast cancer, I never knew that until tonight.

As for the "Final Chapter" on TOTP - The True Story, it did indeed contradict the original documentary and its "happy ending" about the then-current state of TOTP, and the impression I got from the BBC about the decisions to revamp TOTP and then axe it was of idiocrisy and reeked of typical meeja-typeness. Mark Lawson summed up it well describing it as "flogging ice cream in winter".
:-(
A former member
Nearly 4 Million see the final TOTP
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5230770.stm
BF
Bewitched_Fan_2k
Bewitched_Fan_2k posted:
I bet the last episode tonight pulls the highest audience it's had a while.


onetrickpony posted:
Nearly 4 Million see the final TOTP


I'm just too good Cool Crap ending tho really really crap. Like buildings and landmarks. Some TV shows should be listed so no matter what you can't axe them.
LL
Lottie Long-Legs
Bewitched_Fan_2k posted:
Bewitched_Fan_2k posted:
I bet the last episode tonight pulls the highest audience it's had a while.


onetrickpony posted:
Nearly 4 Million see the final TOTP


I'm just too good Cool Crap ending tho really really crap. Like buildings and landmarks. Some TV shows should be listed so no matter what you can't axe them.


To be fair, it was never going to take a genius to work out that the final TOTP was going to pull in a lot extra viewers - loads of press coverage coupled with (what was, effectively) a TOTP2 format.
DD
DarkestDreams
Goodbye TOTP Sad Sad Sad

The studio was good - but why the cheesy ending? The beeb can do better than that!
RM
Roger Mellie
bbcrocks posted:
Goodbye TOTP Sad Sad Sad

The studio was good - but why the cheesy ending? The beeb can do better than that!


I had a weird dream about the final epi of TOTP last night.

I dreamt that Sir Jimmy sang 'Jim'll Fix it', DLT did his Superscouse/ GB convoy, Pat Sharp revived I Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet , Terry Wogan did the Floral Dance and Steve Wright sang Rat Rapping .

More of a nightmare really-- but better than the actual final epi. I should really watch less TV!! Rolling Eyes Laughing

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